Hurricanes

q&a

Q&A with the Experts: Puerto Rico

When Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico on September 18, electricity went out across the island. It was a reminder that recovery from 2017's Hurricane Maria is far from complete. RAND researchers discuss the difficulties Puerto Rico is still facing.

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RAND Commentary Highlights of 2021

Vaccine rollouts, an attack on the U.S. Capitol, massive ransomware attacks, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, record numbers of job openings and people quitting, and more. RAND researchers weighed in on all these topics and more.

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Hurricane Ida Is Part of a Cycle of Disasters—Mitigating Their Impact Means Building Back Better

Building back better means focusing on recovery that not only restores damage from a disaster but also reduces future risk. To meet that goal today, we need to look at the ways our disaster preparedness and response systems actually create risk themselves, by reinforcing things like wealth inequality, systemic discrimination, or access to crucial services.

Jay Balagna, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg

q&a

Disaster Recovery in Puerto Rico: Q&A with Marielena Lara

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, it peeled roofs from houses, turned roads into rivers, and left millions of people without electricity or safe drinking water. Marielena Lara, a senior physician policy researcher at RAND, was grateful to be part of the recovery planning.

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Previous Disasters Provide Important Lessons for Central America's Recovery from Hurricanes

As the global community works to assist Central America in recovering from the disastrous 2020 hurricane season, other recent recovery efforts offer helpful lessons, both for the governments of the region as well as outsiders providing resources and support.

Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda, et al.

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Summer Reading List for Congress

During the August recess Hill staff should have an opportunity to step back from the fast pace of votes and hearing preparation to examine priorities for the fall and beyond. This list of must-read research and commentary covers some policy issues they will likely be addressing after the break.

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Preparing for a COVID-19 Election, Hurricane Response, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on preparing for a COVID-19 election, how the pandemic is affecting artists, North Korea's deadly artillery, and more.

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Planning for the Upcoming Hurricane Season in Light of COVID-19

What if Hurricane Katrina had hit during a pandemic? Emergency planners can prepare for this scenario by evaluating current response system capacity, evacuation and sheltering procedures, food and supply issues, and more.

Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg, Gary Cecchine @GaryCecchine, et al.

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U.S. Gun Policy, Reopening Schools, Prepping for a Hurricane: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on what scientific evidence says about the effects of U.S. gun laws, how schools may have to change when they reopen, preparing for a COVID-19 hurricane, and more.

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What Can FEMA Learn from the Historic 2017 Hurricane and Wildfire Seasons?

When a hurricane comes ashore or a wildfire ignites, most of a community's vulnerability to disaster is already set. Emergency managers including FEMA, states, and localities could do much more to identify statewide risks and build community resilience before an event makes headlines.

Jason Thomas Barnosky, Patrick S. Roberts @RamblingRoberts, et al.

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Hurricane Dorian, Al Qaeda, Veterans' Health: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap looks at Hurricane Dorian recovery, al Qaeda 18 years after 9/11, veterans' mental health care, and more.

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Hurricane Recovery in the Bahamas: Turning Good Intentions into Good Decisions

Recovery in the Bahamas will have to be a balancing act. Plans will need to allow for transition toward long-term strategic goals for the nation, but also be mindful of not perpetuating inequities.

Melissa L. Finucane, Joie D. Acosta

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RAND Researchers Visit Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

A small team of RAND researchers went to Puerto Rico two weeks after the island was struck by Hurricane Maria. They are compiling their observations into a series of studies for the Army, with recommendations to smooth its response to future disasters.

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How to Rebuild After This Year's Hurricane Season? Invest in Resilience

Investing in resilience in an informed and systematic way can help a wide range of high-risk communities be better prepared for any future disasters.

Melissa L. Finucane

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Rethinking Disaster Evacuation

Before a storm hits, officials must decide whether to evacuate the public or advise them to shelter in place. Other, more targeted choices — such as sheltering in safer locations within a city — could be available if an analytic basis for making such judgments were fully developed.

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, Andrew Lauland

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Cholera in Haiti: No Surprise This Time Around

When Hurricane Matthew swept across Haiti, it left a resurgence of cholera in its wake. Tackling cholera head-on should be on the short list of health priorities for disaster relief in the island nation.

Melinda Moore

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What Hurricane Katrina Taught Us About Community Resilience

Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction, death, and suffering in its wake. Its recovery, halting and incomplete as it has been, has taught us valuable lessons about resiliency.

Alonzo L. Plough, Anita Chandra

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Hurricane Katrina: 10 Years After the Storm

This weekend marks 10 years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. As the region struggled to cope and rebuild after the storm, RAND experts worked on solutions to the region's long-term challenges.

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One Year Later: Hurricane Sandy's Lessons in Resilience and Recovery

The recovery from Sandy shows once again that how well communities bounce back from disasters depends not just on how they react after a crisis, but on how resilient they have made themselves beforehand. Building community resilience should be part and parcel of disaster preparedness.

Mahshid Abir

commentary

Responding in Typhoon Haiyan's Wake

Prior responses to other recent disasters offer important lessons. Improved preparedness and efficient coordination mechanisms can help ensure that, when time is of the essence, the United States provides the most effective response.

Jennifer D. P. Moroney @jdpmoroney, Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard

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A Year After Sandy, a New Threat to New York City

As residents continue to recover from Superstorm Sandy, they are about to confront dramatic changes in the flood insurance landscape. Changes to federal floodplain maps will mean thousands of New Yorkers will suddenly be living in areas designated as high-risk flood, which will send their insurance rates soaring.

Lloyd Dixon

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Weather Forecasts, and Our Trust in Them, Need to Improve

When scientists predict extreme weather that never materializes, lay people tend to wonder what went wrong. This is a natural tendency that is not tied to a failure of the science, but rather to differences in the way scientists and lay people view predictions about extreme events.

Melissa L. Finucane, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih

commentary

Planning for Superstorms, Wildfires, and Deep Uncertainty

The path to climate change preparedness should start at the intersection of resilience and robustness — that is, building resilient communities with the individuals and organizations within those communities making robust decisions, ones designed to work well over a wide range of ever-changing conditions.

Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert, Anita Chandra

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'New Normal' Requires New Ways to Support Social and 'Human' Recovery

Recent global disasters vividly illustrate that recovery entails more than simply restoring physical infrastructure such as roads and buildings; it is also a long process of restoring the social infrastructure—the daily routines and networks that support the physical and mental health and well-being of the population, write Anita Chandra and Joie Acosta.

Anita Chandra, Joie D. Acosta

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What Louisiana Can Teach New York and New Jersey

The massive damage and disruption caused by “Super Storm” Sandy has created a rare moment when New York City, New Jersey and surrounding areas are singularly focused on the infrastructure they need in a changing environment – not just the infrastructure they already have thanks to the vision and investments of past generations.

Debra Knopman, Jordan R. Fischbach, et al.

commentary

In Wake of Hurricane Sandy, Look to Louisiana for Lessons

Just as public agencies across the country conducted terrorism risk assessments in the wake of 9/11, a comprehensive infrastructure assessment may be in order to understand natural hazard risks and the potential exacerbating effects of climate change, write Gary Cecchine, David Groves, and Jordan Fischbach.

Gary Cecchine @GaryCecchine, David G. Groves, et al.

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Helping Displaced Students in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy

If Hurricane Sandy causes extensive disruptions in public schools—particularly in hard-hit New York City—our research shows that choices made by parents and policymakers could significantly limit the negative short-term effects of changing schools under such difficult circumstances, writes John Pane.

John F. Pane @JohnFPane

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Has the Gulf Coast Learned Katrina's Lessons in Time for Isaac?

Seven years after Hurricane Katrina, it's clear that New Orleans and other cities along the Gulf Coast are applying what they learned then in preparation for Hurricane Isaac, write Gary Cecchine and Jordan R. Fischbach.

Gary Cecchine @GaryCecchine, Jordan R. Fischbach

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A Flood of Innovation: Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan

RAND President and CEO Michael Rich writes about how RAND computer models and empirical analyses are helping protect and restore the Louisiana coast.

Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich

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Katrina Proved We Must Do Better Job of Protecting Our Protectors

Katrina Proved We Must Do Better Job of Protecting Our Protectors, in the Clarion-Ledger

Brian A. Jackson

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When Students Disappear...

Published commentary by RAND staff: When Students Disappear..., in Education Week.

John F. Pane @JohnFPane

commentary

Mississippi Comeback

Published commentary by RAND staff: Mississippi Comeback, in the Los Angeles Times.

George D. Penick, K. Jack Riley

commentary

Get Proactive with Disasters

Published commentary by RAND staff: Get Proactive with Disasters in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Charles Meade

commentary

Storms Blow, But We Can Cut Losses

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Charles Meade